Monday, March 9, 2009

Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com "Braketology" fame still has the Gophers in the NCAA Tournament. The first round match-up Lunardi projects is rather favorable. He also has the Big Ten with 8 bids, which is the most of any conference - even the vaunted ACC.

The Gophers' latest RPI ranking fell to 41 from the mid-30's over the weekend. Just to be safe, I think the Gophers should seriously consider beating Northwestern at the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.

The Twins signed Scott Baker over the weekend to a four-year, $15.25M deal. Aaron Gleeman provides his analysis.

My view is that it's a relatively low-risk, high-reward signing. Baker was an innings-eater last year and was the most consistent starter all season. He's only 27 and the Twins have him locked up relatively inexpensively for the next four years. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Baker is not the next Joe Mays.